MOORHEAD - Moorhead midfielder and captain Hannah Riveland limped over and answered the question before it was even asked about her freshly sprained ankle after the Spuds' 4-0 shutout of Detroit Lakes on Thursday at Jim Gotta Stadium.
"I'm going to be OK and I'm going to play," Riveland said regarding the next game, after scoring a goal and dishing out an assist in Thursday's win.
It's that thought process coming from leaders like Riveland that has Moorhead 6-3 overall, winners of five of its last six matches and confident it will not bounce around the .500 mark like it did a season ago.
"Heart, determination and work ethic," Moorhead coach Nicole Wiesner said. "We played the same game as we did last year (against Detroit Lakes), but it was their determination, their will to win and being serious about soccer that got them the win."
The Spuds finished 8-8-1 last season - never putting together more than two wins in a row - and bowed out of the section tournament in the second round. It's three 'P's that have this season's Spuds believing differently.
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"We have goals and we keep coming back to those goals," Wiesner said. "We have purpose, possession and positive. We pass with a purpose, we keep possession and we always stay positive on the field, and that's kind of what we've been working toward this year."
Regardless of what letter they use, the Spuds have been getting 'W's, and it's been coming from all over the field. Riveland scored midway through the first half and fellow captain Rebekah Hakk netted another - thanks to a Tori Davis assist - 10 minutes later. In the second half, Riveland found Alyssa Hanson to make it 3-0, and 10 minutes later Allison Ulness set up Katie Olson to make it 4-0.
"We all blend together and do more team activities, so we're all close and we're really comfortable with each other," Riveland said. "We communicate well on the field. We just know each other."
It's that bond that has five different names in the box score in a win against a Detroit Lakes team that entered Thursday 7-1-1 on the season.
"Everybody on the team contributes," Riveland said. "It's not just one person. We all score goals, we all make assists and we all make passes. We all work really well together."
The priorities are different from last season, and the Spuds are hoping the result will be as well.
"We are more of a family, and we are a team with ultimate goals," Hakk said. "We want to go out and reach those goals together as a team. We are a hard-driven team, and we just want to play every game to our hardest. We have the heart and we want to succeed. It's just the drive we have."
There's one 'P' the Spuds forgot.
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"This team has high potential," Hakk said.
FIRST HALF: 1, M, Riveland, 26:39. 2, M, Hakk (Davis), 36:21.
SECOND HALF: 3, M, Hanson (Riveland), 12:13. 4, M, Olson (Ulness), 22:42.
SAVES: M, Wenger 3. D, Foltz 6.
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Chris Murphy at (701) 241-5548
